48 research outputs found
Towards a first principles description of phonons in NiPt disordered alloys: the role of relaxation
Using a combination of density-functional perturbation theory and the
itinerant coherent potential approximation, we study the effects of atomic
relaxation on the inelastic incoherent neutron scattering cross sections of
disordered NiPt alloys. We build on previous work, where
empirical force constants were adjusted {\it ad hoc} to agree with experiment.
After first relaxing all structural parameters within the local-density
approximation for ordered NiPt compounds, density-functional perturbation
theory is then used to compute phonon spectra, densities of states, and the
force constants. The resulting nearest-neighbor force constants are first
compared to those of other ordered structures of different stoichiometry, and
then used to generate the inelastic scattering cross sections within the
itinerant coherent potential approximation. We find that structural relaxation
substantially affects the computed force constants and resulting inelastic
cross sections, and that the effect is much more pronounced in random alloys
than in ordered alloys.Comment: 8 pages, 3 eps figures, uses revtex
Pediatric diabetes training for healthcare professionals in Europe: Time for change.
BACKGROUND: Training for healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Europe who care for children and young people (CYP) with type 1 diabetes and their families is variable depending on the country. Building on the work of SWEET (Better control in Pediatric and Adolescent diabeteS: Working to crEate CEnTers of Reference) and using the German Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) curriculum, a European collaboration of pediatric diabetes experts aimed to (1) establish current core elements that should be included in a pediatric diabetes education training course and (2) create a template for a European CDE's training curriculum. METHODS: A qualitative methodology incorporating a survey questionnaire, focus group discussions, individual semi-structured interviews and workshops was employed to explore participants' experiences and opinions. HCPs-pediatric consultants, diabetes nurses, dietitians and psychologists, national and local diabetes leads, academic and education leads and children, and young people with diabetes and families took part in the study. The total number of participants equaled 186. RESULTS: A template for a European Certified Diabetes Educator Curriculum (EU-CDEC) was developed based on the themes that emerged from the participants' expertise and experiences. This provides a model for HCPs' pediatric diabetes training provision. CONCLUSIONS: There is a severe shortage of high quality, standardized training for HCPs across the majority of European countries. Lack of trained HCPs for CYP with diabetes will result in the delivery of suboptimal care and impact on health, wellbeing and clinical and psychological outcomes. The EU-CDEC template can be used to increase access to high quality training provision for all HCPs across Europe and worldwide
Phonons in random alloys: the itinerant coherent-potential approximation
We present the itinerant coherent-potential approximation(ICPA), an analytic,
translationally invariant and tractable form of augmented-space-based,
multiple-scattering theory in a single-site approximation for harmonic phonons
in realistic random binary alloys with mass and force-constant disorder.
We provide expressions for quantities needed for comparison with experimental
structure factors such as partial and average spectral functions and derive the
sum rules associated with them. Numerical results are presented for Ni_{55}
Pd_{45} and Ni_{50} Pt_{50} alloys which serve as test cases, the former for
weak force-constant disorder and the latter for strong. We present results on
dispersion curves and disorder-induced widths. Direct comparisons with the
single-site coherent potential approximation(CPA) and experiment are made which
provide insight into the physics of force-constant changes in random alloys.
The CPA accounts well for the weak force-constant disorder case but fails for
strong force-constant disorder where the ICPA succeeds.Comment: 19 pages, 12 eps figures, uses RevTex
Metaphors we die by? Geoengineering, metaphors and the argument from catastrophe
Geoeengineering the climate by reflecting sunlight or extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has attracted increasing attention from natural scientists, social scientists, policy makers and the media. This article examines promotional discourse related to geoengineering from the 1980s to 2010. It asks in particular how this option for dealing with the problems posed by climate change were framed through the use of conceptual and discourse metaphors and whether one can argue that these are metaphors we âlive byâ or metaphors we might âdie byâ. Findings show that an overarching argument from catastrophe was bolstered by three conceptual master-metaphors, namely The Planet is a body, The Planet is a machine and The planet is a patient/addict, linked to a variety of discourse metaphors, older conceptual metaphors and clichĂ©s. This metaphorical landscape began to shift while the article was being written and will have to be closely monitored in the future
Diabetes self-management arrangements in Europe: a realist review to facilitate a project implemented in six countries
Background: Self-management of long term conditions can promote quality of life whilst delivering benefits to the financing of health care systems. However, rarely are the meso-level influences, likely to be of direct relevance to these desired outcomes, systematically explored. No specific international guidelines exist suggesting the features of the most appropriate structure and organisation of health care systems within which to situate self-management approaches and practices. This review aimed to identify the quantitative literature with regard to diabetes self-management arrangements currently in place within the health care systems of six countries (The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Bulgaria, and Greece) and explore how these are integrated into the broader health care and welfare systems in each country.
Methods: The methodology for a realist review was followed. Publications of interest dating from 2000 to 2013 were identified through appropriate MeSH terms by a systematic search in six bibliographic databases. A search diary was maintained and the studies were assessed for their quality and risk of bias.
Results: Following the multi-step search strategy, 56 studies were included in the final review (the majority from the UK) reporting design methods and findings on 21 interventions and programmes for diabetes and chronic disease self-management. Most (11/21, 52%) of the interventions were designed to fit within the context of primary care. The majority (11/21, 52%) highlighted behavioural change as an important goal. Finally, some (5/21, 24%) referred explicitly to Internet-based tools.
Conclusions: This review is based on results which are derived from a total of at least 5,500 individuals residing in the six participating countries. It indicates a policy shift towards patient-centred self-management of diabetes in a primary care context. The professional role of diabetes specialist nurses, the need for multidisciplinary approaches and a focus on patient education emerge as fundamental principles in the design of relevant programmes. Socio-economic circumstances are relevant to the capacity to self-manage and suggest that any gains and progress will be hard to maintain during economic austerity. This realist review should be interpreted within the wider context of a whole systems approach regarding self-care support and chronic illness management
StrahlqualitÀt und Betriebsverhalten der kalten Neutronenquelle mit Neutronenleiter am Forschungsreaktor FRJ-2 (DIDO)
In dem vorliegenden Bericht wird im Abschnitt II eine kurze Ăbersicht ĂŒber den Gesamtaufbau der Anordnung gegeben, die grundlegenden Eigenschaften des Strahls werden ausfĂŒhrlich behandelt und die MeĂanordnung wird skizziert. In den Abschnitten III, IV und V wird dann ĂŒber die spezielle Eigenschaft der Wismutfilter, den EinfluĂ der Betriebsparameter der Kalten Quelle auf die NeutronenintensitĂ€t, die QualitĂ€t der Neutronenleiter und die SchwĂ€chung des Strahls durch die ExternenStrahleinbauten berichtet. Aus der gewonnenen Betriebserfahrung lassen sich RĂŒckschlĂŒsse auf die Optimierung der bestehenden Anlage und die Verbesserung des Systems gewinnen, die im letzten Abschnitt behandelt werden
Ein Korpus fĂŒr die vergleichende Interaktionsforschung. Das âParallel European Corpus of Informal Interactionâ (PECII)
Dieser Beitrag stellt ein neues, im Aufbau befindliches Parallelkorpus vor: Das âParallel European Corpus of Informal Interactionâ (PECII). ZunĂ€chst wird der Bedarf nach besser vergleichbaren Daten fur die sprachĂŒbergreifende Erforschung natĂŒrlichen sprachlichen Handelns in der sozialen Interaktion begrĂŒndet. Wir diskutieren Fragen der Vergleichbarkeit von Episoden natĂŒrlicher sozialer Interaktion, und die methodologischen Herausforderungen, die AnsprĂŒche an ein Korpus natĂŒrlicher Sprachdaten mit dem Wunsch nach vergleichbaren Daten in Einklang zu bringen. SchlieĂlich skizzieren wir mögliche UntersuchungsansĂ€tze auf der Grundlage von PECII anhand einer laufenden Studie zur Sanktionierung von Fehlverhalten in verschiedenen AktivitĂ€tskontexten. ZukĂŒnftig soll PECII der wissenschaftlichen Ăffentlichkeit als Ressource fur die sprach- und kulturvergleichende Untersuchung sprachlichen Handelns in der sozialen Interaktion zur VerfĂŒgung stehen